


if we go down, we go down together

by orphan_account



Series: colours (dc soulmate au thing) [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Dick Jokes, Foster Care, How Do I Tag, Multi, My First Work in This Fandom, Past Relationship(s), expected ollie queen bashing from: roy harper - Freeform, past kori/roy/jason, this is just trash, trash, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:12:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9379868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jason was okay with seeing the world in blue.He didn't want to have a soulmate.He didn't, really.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> trash

Everyone saw the world in a colour related to their soulmate, and Jason saw the world in blue. Shades, some lighter than others, some darker, but it was all blue. It would change when he met his soulmate, but he thought that was bull. His mother had told him, one day, that his soulmate was probably someone he would love with his entire heart, but considering where she’d ended up in her own love life, Jason had chosen to believe the opposite. 

So he went to work, made sure he read every label, and continued on with his job in the kitchen, cooking at a restaurant. That was, until a customer requested his presence, and Jason had swore in front of the one who told him to head out, and he all but stormed out to greet the one who’d asked.

The restaurant was empty, mostly, and he was the only one in the kitchen, but he didn’t want to listen to them complain about their food and demand it free, because he knew Dick would whine and tell him that he could have done better, knew Barbara would focus a steady glare on him, and Roy would complain he should have stayed home and made him dinner in their crappy apartment. 

“Look,” He said once he got to the table, and there was only some businessman in a suit, a teen sitting in front of him, “whatever food you’re complaining about, I’ll remake it, but I am not giving it to you for free.” He angled his eyes away for a moment, and then looked to the man who seemed to be the older, before his eyes went wide. Some other colours than blue hit his vision, and he had to rub his eyes a couple times, because he was still waiting for a reply, but that man was… 

No, it couldn’t have been…

Finally, the businessman cleared his throat, throwing his gaze to the boy across from him at the table. Jason was guessing his son. “We were actually going to thank you for the food.” He said, and then smiled politely up to Jason, despite the fact the other man was actually shaking, that his eyes were wide and he wanted to go home now. “But I’m sure you are busy, so…”

“Father,” Damian interrupted, exasperated, “I have university tomorrow.” He sat back, arms crossing over his chest, and Jason mumbled something under his breath, unheard, and watched as the teen focused blue eyes onto him. “Can you grab the bill for us instead of insulting your customers?” He nearly snapped, voice edging on bitter, and Jason wanted to strangle him.

But he turned on his heels and asked Colin, their waiter, to track down the order, before he headed back. However, when he did, they were both gone, and an unreasonable amount of money was left on the table, along with a business card, a message scrawled on it.

**‘We should talk’. ******

_Talk _my ass, Jason thought bitterly, shoving the card into his pocket before he counted out the money to get the total for the bill, an unusually large tip for their waiter, and kept about forty dollars before he helped close up and headed home.__


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's terrible foster brother and his equally crazy roommate have ruined his life and gotten him curious again.
> 
> His night could not get worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this freakin' thing is spiralling downhill.

“Who the hell decided that microwaving peeps was a good idea? Dick, you own a fuckin’ restaurant!” Jason practically exclaimed, seeming furious as he set the microwave, now broken, at the front door. Dick Grayson, sitting on his counter, lifted and dropped his shoulders into a shrug, and Roy was too busy mumbling to himself as he worked on something. 

“I… I don’t technically own it,” Dick interrupted, “I’m a manager. You know Oliver Queen owns the restaurant, Jay.” He pulled his eyebrows together, hands throwing up before he wiggled his fingers. “Yo, foster brother, do you have to be so avoiding? Gimme a hug!”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Dickie, I would never hug you. There’s exploded peeps all over your hand.” He replied, and then set one hand on his hip, frowning slightly. “I met my… Douchebag of a soulmate.” His head cocked to the side, “He’s rich, I think. Left us like, a lot of cash after his half-finished meal.” He paused, frowning slightly, “He has a kid, I don’t wanna touch that steaming mess.” 

Dick hopped off the counter, sticky hands finding their ways to his brother’s cheeks. “So you know what your favourite colour looks like?” He asked curiously, “Red?” He swiped his thumbs on Jason’s cheeks, and Jason made an offended noise, swatting at his hands to move him away. Instead, Dick took the chance to throw his arms around the man’s neck, burying his face into his shoulder. “You like red!” He shot back.

“I didn’t know what red looked like until today,” Jason admitted, because it wasn’t like Dick, who’d met his soulmate at thirteen, only briefly knew a life without that colour. “So how would I like it? Plus, man, I didn’t want to shower again today, that’s gross!”

Roy lifted a hand now. “I need the apartment tomorrow, Jaybird!” He said brightly, looking up, “Can you cook breakfast though? Lian’ll be here at nine.”

Exasperated, the youngest man there rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, just can’t use the microwave.” He muttered, “It’s broke, you asshole.” He let his eyes settle on Dick again, and his foster brother reached up to run his hands through his hair, causing Jason to groan and push him away. Dick returned, back to his side though, huffing. “Go home, Dick, you broke the microwave, you and Wally have your own.” 

“Fuck you too.” Dick mumbled childishly, and he left with that.

“You gonna call your soulmate?” Roy asked, and he looked up. He was the only one now, who hadn’t found his soulmate, out of their little group, of course he’d have that silly hope that it was worth something. “I mean, Jay, man, is he hot? Shit, the kid thing must be hard, and he’s probably older than you, but rich? That’s worth it, you see our apartment? We could use cash from your sugar daddy.”

Okay, so maybe that was the only reason Jason was considering calling his apparent soulmate.

But he focused grey eyes onto the fridge, and his lips tipped down in a frown, because the magnets there were crooked, a picture Lian had drawn last time still hanging up, and took a deep breath. "I can't just take money from some rich dude, Roy." He said finally, "It's... Not _legal_."

"Who said legal was fun?" Roy replied with a grin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He swore he wasn't going to call.
> 
> He didn't call.
> 
> Bruce showed up anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise it's me again i'm back

Jason had ultimately decided against picking up his cell phone and calling the number on the business card, and when Lian had asked why her father had gasped when he’d thrown something out, he’d dismissed it as something Roy had been highly interested in that they couldn’t afford to spare any time for. He ended up at work all the same, was still able to continue his job with the new addition of the colours, and felt fine until he was called into Oliver Queen’s office.

Sure, he understood why the man had fired Roy, a slacker, someone who didn’t get his work done, but he didn’t understand Roy’s hatred for him, not really. ‘You seen that goatee?’ Roy had once said, and he’d been drunk, before he’d given up that addiction, that he’d fucking whined into his arms, ‘Sucks. Who would let that stay on their face?’

“Look, I know you probably want to fire me because I live with Harper and I’m the reason he shows up out of the blue sometimes, but I swear, I am one of the best cooks in that Goddamn kitchen that so help me I will rui--” Jason had to break off when he entered Oliver’s office though, because businessman soulmate was sitting in a chair in front of him, and he couldn’t breathe, because he thought that ordeal was over with. He thought his life would return to being completely normal, thought he would be completely fine broke and alone, because he wasn’t really alone until Roy found his soulmate and moved on, left.

“Jason!” Oliver’s voice came out gritted, and he forced a smile to the cook, despite how Jason had almost just bashed him in front of this rich guy, “You’re here. Bruce Wayne wanted to thank our amazing cook again.” His eyes narrowed, a warning to the man, and Jason breathed out.

Then he gave a loose shrug. “You sure that’s all he wanted, boss?” He asked, and he met eyes with his boss, flashing a sarcastic smile. “You sure he’s not here on personal matters? Right, Mr. Wayne?” He prompted, and he crossed his arms over his chest, and he could feel a burning glare directed on his face, but Jason kept steady eyes on Bruce. 

“I wanted to thank you for the meal you made last night.” Bruce said, and his eyes were so blue Jason was sure they had most people dropping to worship him, and he had to hold back from doing the same, because he was a sucker for blue eyes and black hair, a sucker for people way out of his league. 

Pressing a hand to his chest, Jason tilted his head back. “And I am oh-so flattered, but I have a station to be in right now, cooking, for other people who are paying. I also can’t deal with you docking my pay again because I was ‘slacking’.” He used air quotes, eyes moving up to Oliver. “Can’t, okay? Let me work overtime, but if you take one more dime off my paycheck--” He broke off, because Bruce was there, and both of them were staring at him now.

“I was going to promote you.” Oliver said, and Jason was going to fucking kill this businessman, because he was trying to earn that promotion for months, and he helped him snag it in under a day?

Then Dick screamed ‘fire!’ and his boss had to go out of the office, calmly, leaving Jason with his douchebag of a soulmate. He was assuming douchebag, considering his shoes looked like they costed more than the price of his shared apartment with Roy, tripled. 

“I…” Jason tilted his head away, silent for a long moment. “I wasn’t going to call you.” He said finally.  
Bruce stared up at him, and hesitated. “Dinner then,” He decided, “tomorrow? You like cooking. Give me a list of things I need to buy, and you can cook.”

“I’m not sure if you’re asking me on a date, but it’s not polite to ask your date to cook for you, you know.” Jason shot back, but muttered something under his breath. “Give me your cell again.” He said, and after he punched in the numbers, he gave him a wave. “I have a foster brother to save from the fire, if you’ll excuse me.” He added, and pushed out of the room to make sure Dick was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason was expecting a house.
> 
> Bruce's... 
> 
> It didn't count as a house, he hadn't ever seen a house that gigantic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> returning for another pile of trash???

Jason thought he had the wrong address for such a long time, or about five minutes, as he stood outside the mansion-like place, and pressed his hand to the door, hesitated, closed it into a fist and decided to stand there for two more minutes like an idiot. This was his soulmate, and Roy was right, he was filthy rich. He didn’t know how it made sense, that Bruce got to be rich and Jason got to grow up with Dick in foster homes, that they didn’t even have parents after thirteen, although they hadn’t ever shared parents.

Finally, he mustered enough courage up to rap his knuckles against the door, and it took a minute until someone opened the door. Jason was surprised it was the teen from the other night, but it was only so he could step past him and make his way away from the house. “I…” He looked over his shoulder, curious, but then realized, after a moment, that Bruce was right in the doorway. “Ah, shit.” He said when he saw the suit and tie, fumbled to grip at his black collared shirt, with a painted-effect smiley face on it. “You… You don’t dress casual, do you?” 

Bruce cracked a smile and stepped to the side to let the other man in before he shut the door, gentle, and turned back to him. “The situation hasn’t ever called for it yet.” He said, as if it was some sort of a joke, and Jason?

Jason laughed at it.

“I’m guessing you know we’re having spaghetti,” Jason said, “from the list I sent you. Did you grab everything? I mean, not like you can’t afford it, holy shit, man. I’ve never seen a house this big. Is it generational?” 

Bruce nodded. “It has it’s own library.” He said after a moment, “Which has never impressed anyone until today.” He finished, after seeing that Jason’s eyes had lit up, that the man looked more excited about the books than the massive house. He hadn’t ever met someone, hadn’t had someone over for some fancy party or some date he didn’t really need to go on, that had been excited for the library aspect of his house. 

“If you’d believe me, I used to be an English major.” The younger man said as he looked around the house, and then finally to Bruce. “But then I gave up, pursued something else, if you couldn’t tell by my wonderfully paying job.” He extended two arms, grinned like the devil and looked to the stairs. “So… I’m guessing if everything in your house is huge and expensive, the beds are too? Silk sheets, soft towels in the bathroom? Man, this was the kind of life I wanted when I was a kid.”

Somewhere, a guilty part of Bruce warned him that Jason almost was a kid, compared to his own age, but he ignored that.

“So, where’s your kitchen?” Jason asked curiously, and he seemed just as excited as he had been about the library, and Bruce had to wonder if he always had that childish excitement to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason comes to terms with his fate.

Jason’s phone rang when he was finishing up putting everything on plates. He paused, grey eyes focused onto the silverware he had off to the side, before he gave a little sigh and looked over his shoulder, to where Bruce was sitting down. “I have to…” He said, and reached for his phone, pausing. “Can I take the call? It could be my roommate, and because he’s got a kid…” Maybe he was just making excuses, really, so he didn’t have to face an awkward sit down dinner, maybe someone would need him.

Bruce gave him a polite nod, and Jason reached for the phone and answered it, holding it up to his ear. However, his eye practically twitched when he heard Tim complaining. “I lost Bart in a club, Jason!” He said, and he sounded completely exasperated with the idea, but Jason could hear Conner muttering some reassuring words in the background, as well as some colourful ones. “He’s gone. I had him, and then… Well, I went to grab a drink, and…” 

“You know I’m having dinner with someone, right?” Jason said suddenly.

Tim breathed out audibly. “You are?” He asked, and Jason could hear the guilt in his voice, could hear him swear under his breath. “Nevermind then, I’ll… I’ll call Wally, or, you know, Dick. Have fun eating, Jay.” The line went dead, and Jason swore under his breath before he pulled the phone from his ear and texted him to tell him when they found Bart, or if they lost someone else. 

Someone being Dick, considering his foster brother had a habit of getting drunk and doing handstands, of straying a little too far from the people he was with.

“Jason?” Bruce’s voice came from closer than he’d been, and he’d stepped up to stand by the man’s side, reached for one of his shoulders, but Jason moved away to set the silverware, separately, on the plates, before he lifted one and passed it to the man’s now open hand. “What happened with your phone call? Do you need to leave?”

Yes, Jason said in his head, eyes flickering up to him, yes, I need to leave before I do something stupid. 

Instead, he picked up his own plate. “No, no, not at all.” He ended up saying, reassuringly, “My friend lost his, er, partner, in a club. They’re calling someone else to help.” When he saw Bruce’s eyes widen, he actually laughed.

“Bart gets lost a lot,” He said, “he likes to cause trouble, even if he never means to.” 

“Jason, do you want to be here?” Bruce asked with caution, and his eyebrows raised as he stared at the other man. “Do you want to be here, or would you rather be home?” His hands reached over, and he squeezed the other man’s hands, blue eyes focusing in on grey ones. “I wouldn’t be offended, you know, if you were to leave.”

Jason’s thumbs rubbed on Bruce’s hands, seeming a little nervous. “I want to be here.” He said, and looked up to the other man, “I’m nervous.”


End file.
